Cobie Fair
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Posts posted by Cobie Fair
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I have always been a Nicky Hayden fan mostly due to the way he rides, its exciting to watch him getting his bike sideways! In 2006 he won the championship purely by consistency and hard work, other riders may win by dominating but where's the entertainment value in that! His style always seemed to suit the 990cc bike better, I am looking forward to next year to see what he can do with the big Ducati,
Over here at a national level I am a Leon Camier fan, anyone that says you have to be small to be competitive in racing has yet to see Leon in action, I wouldn't bet against him winning the BSB championship next year!
Hey Ace,
Did you know Leon was one of our students? He has come over a few times and trained with us here. Love to see him win BSB next year too!
Finally got to watch WSB last night, Bayliss is the champ. Haga was pretty impressive though.
C
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Carlos Checa.......He is a fighter that always seems to work his way through the pack and stays in the top 7. Plus I am a Honda guy and the new bike is starting to really show well with Carlos ( and others ) on it. I would say he is my #1 rider to watch.
Good one, I haven't seen much WSB this year, I'll make a point to check him out.
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King Kenny is still one of my favorites. He did it in multiple disciplines, and he was always looking at the sport from a view of better show, expand, train new riders, etc.. But sticking with his riding:
I watched him at Laguna (not sure what year it was) wheelie past the then current US Formula 1 champ Mike Baldwin, going into turn 9 at Laguna (now turn 11). What made this special was that Mike was on the brakes.
Kenny wouldn't just check out and smoke these guys either, he'd stay around for a while and make it a show, it was great to watch.
So, who's your favorite and why?
Cobie
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Haha, yes, and have him do alittle endo like in some of his pictures!
Unless you are a nut like Ben Bostrom I think he dragged a knee with Mamola.
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Then, when you got back on a nice, light 600, all you could think of was, "What a freaking pig this thing is!"
ROFL
Hey, what's ROFL?
C
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Yeah 2-3 litres of water a day minimum just to maintain sounds like loads, and its not just the body that suffers dehydration, it gets the brain too, can slow down your decision making process which isn't a good thing on a motorcycle! Possibly one of the reasons alot of trackday crashes happen later in the afternoon.
I talked to an older woman recenlty (70's?) and she was telling me to hold the water in your mouth longer, helps hydrate the brain.
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ACE--well for sure going to only get agreement here! I'd way prefer the rear to slide than the front, by getting back on the throttle early, rather than the coast and wait scenario
C
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Thanks guys, and thanks Cobie (you were my coach in Level 1 in June at Streets....Vic Whitaker), but anyways, that is pretty much what I expected. The pro-photog took some great pics last time around. I told my chick I would ask since she is coming up with me this next time around.
Hi Vic,
Come say hello that morning, and let us know if we can help with anything.
Best,
Cobie
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quote]
Cobie,
I love #2. Yes the gas bit is nice, but the scare tactic would be much more fun!
Yeah, have Randy Mamola put them on the 2 seater GP bike--woohoo!
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I think that I need to work on flexibility more than anything else as sometimes moving about the bike feels a bit mechanical rather than smooth and flowing! Over the winter I plan to work on my endurance fitness, my flexibility and aim to reduce my body fat percentage as its been creeping up lately!
I agree with eating good food and keeping hydrated, another problem area for me is that I drink nowhere near enough water and probably drink way to much coffee, I remember when I did my level 1 we were encouraged to drink lots of water throughout the day and I felt great, this was at a rainy Rockingham so imagine the importance for you guys getting hydrated in the desert heat at some of the tracks you go to like Willow Springs and Las Vegas!
Yeah, I think it's a huge issue, hydration. It's made more and more sense to me as I've learned more about it and tried it more. Here is one example: a few years ago I screwed up the lower disks in my back, got them way herniated, really was a mess. Did a few things that turned it all the way around, but finally realized that all the "bad days" pain wise, coincided with not enough water. Finally a doctor told my disks were dehydrated. Wow, that shook me. Back pain = dehydration. Don't think I would have made that connection on my own. So, 2-3 liters a day (minimum, that's just maintenance before any real exercise). It's made a huge difference. For sure there is more to it, but it was (and is) a real factor.
C
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Hello,
A few days ago I bought a Ducati 749 S and had my first track day on this bike last week.
The thing is, that the bike's tank is so narrow compared to the Japanese bikes, that I can't get a grip on it with my feet while braking. So I was charging my front end with lots of weight since I can't have my arms loose enough.
Are there any other techniques that I could use to overcome this problem?
There are a few pieces to this, so first question is have you done any of the schools, levels 1-3? I only ask to know if I can refer to something that you might have been trained on.
The next thing, both Stomp Grip and Tech Spec were mentioned: they are a great aid, and make the job of holding on to the bike a lot easier.
One question about what you posted: you said you can't get a grip o the tank with your feet--what are you trying to do now, how are you attempting to hold on to the bike under braking?
Best,
Cobie
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Kevin is right, we got a little off topic here.
To get back on, here is what has helped me (very generally speaking). Good upper body strength to turn the bike, decent ab strength to handle moving around on the bike, good lower body to aid that also, and having the inner thighs in good shape for that too. Good flexibility makes it all easier.
I'd say almost as important (and more in some cases) is decent food and enough water and electrolytes. More students have had a tough time from being dehydrated than just about anything.
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I haven't been a student since '85, what do I need to do to be a student?
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You are right of course, it was a silly statement to make, I realise that racers come from all walks of life, some born into it and some just decide later thats what they want to do, I just cant believe that it would be imposible for a woman to be competitve in pro racing! I could be wrong and so far history proves that but I feel there must be more to it than just being the wrong sex!
Now Sir, we are on the same sheet of music. I want to know (like you) WHY they aren't competitive. I don't think it's physiology (although they are more "top heavy"). I wonder if it's a matter of desire and cultural grooming telling them that it's not ladylike to compete. And then you have normal rate of attrition in this sport due to injury and just .....life. I suppose cause we start with more men, more stick.
There have been women that have made it pretty far up--who was the German(?) girl that ended up with some kind of championship, Katia-something?
Of course we have had Misti doing well, and Jessica Z has been out there, but Misti regularly is 3 seconds a lap faster.
There are for sure fewer women that race than men, so pretty small pool to begin with. One could ask the same in car racing--any world champs there?
C
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How i may contact admin this site? I have a question.
iijiivei
Hi
You can contact me, I should be able to answer any question, if not I will get it answered. You can pm me, or e-mail: cobie@superbikeschool.com
best,
Cobie
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OK--regarding warming tires up. Hard accel and hard braking can help, but having the bike workig the tire in the turn is what I understand is the key. Some tracks, like Pocono East, most of the turns are in one direction. Pocono has only 2 short left hand turns. On cooler/cold days, I am more cautious on the right side, and in fact on a cold day at Pocono don't really think the right hand side gets properly warmed up. We deal with this also training riders on the slide bike.
Both sides of the tire have to be warmed, and this is done by working the tire (gradiently going faster) in the turns. We have had some that think "warm your tires, go easy for 2 laps" means go SLOW for 2 laps, then drop the hammer. Starting slow, then gradiently going faster, will warm the tires. Some tires take more to warm up that others.
On the slide bike, we get a rider to bring the bike's speed up gradienlty on one side. When he/she changes to slide it in the other direction, have to start slowly, and bring the speed up (get some heat in that side of the tire) first.
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After reading ATOTW II, I came up with a LAUNDRY list of things I did wrong on that particular turn alone. My entry speed (for my ability) was too fast for that corner, I missed my turn-in RP, I wasn't able to turn (or flick) the bike quick enough, my body was not positioned properly prior to the turn, and I don't recall looking through the turn (probably because I screwed up everything else so badly, there was no point - ha ha!).
Dan
Dan--good of you to figure those things out.
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My comment on women was that it was a bit harder to turn the bike quickly due to structure (most men have a bit more muscle in their upper body) and also size can give a leverage advantage. I'll bet Dani Pedrosa, due to his size, has to stay quite fit to be able to turn a bike quickly.
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Didn't we have the discussion elsewhere about the proper way to warm tires??? I think it's also discussed in the current issue of Sport Rider.
Or did I forget to take my dyslexia medication again?
I don't recall if we did, but it has come up so much at the schools, guys not really knowing how to do it, I've been making more of a point of going over it. Haven't see the SR issue yet, I'll have a look.
C
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Okay, I had imagined just going knee to knee in a straight line or something (silly me). I suppose this can be done in any good set of esses? Yes?
I believe it can be practiced anywhere there is enough space, like in a paddock at a race track or a car park! dont know what sort of speed you should aim to do it at though!
Warms the tires on both sides
C
What's the smilie for a bad joke :-)
It's just been that we've had guys (even coaches) on cooler days, forget that tires have to be warmed on both sides. If you are going to go from one knee to the other, want to make sure the tires are going to stick!
C
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Okay, I had imagined just going knee to knee in a straight line or something (silly me). I suppose this can be done in any good set of esses? Yes?
I believe it can be practiced anywhere there is enough space, like in a paddock at a race track or a car park! dont know what sort of speed you should aim to do it at though!
Warms the tires on both sides
C
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I don't know which way is faster but I can say I have turned bikes from knee to knee fast enough that the wheels leave the ground. Driving the front wheel under the bike fast enough to bottom the forks and compress the rear, with both rebounding and the increase in radius from the side of the tire to the center effectively jumping the bike right off the ground. I don't think you can turn it from straight up and down to lean faster than gravity will pull it down, but clearly gravity can defeated coming from leaned to straight up.
Where in the world can this be done? is it a CSS drill? Sounds like fun.
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Will's pretty amazing at turning a bike, has been as long as I've known him. That's a skill that can take a bit of work. There should be some good footage of this when Keith gets done with the Twist 2 DVD, which he is working on now, big time.
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I suppose that this isn't really a school question, but I expect an instructor to be best qualified to answer this. I would say that this question is more about the ways in which humans learn new things, and the structure of CSS is the best example.
Suppose you take a rider, the worst rider in the world...say 10 years street experience with alot of bad habits. He was self taught in the 1800's and then decided to get that brand new Liter Bike to teach himself AGAIN to ride and has been practicing those bad habits and ingraining them.
Mr. Rider comes to CSS, and the only thing going for him is time, money and a burning desire to improve.
Given this scenario, he plans to completely retrofit his riding with 13 school sessions. He would like to take levels 1-3 thrice and then do level 4, afterwhich he plans to take another self-inventory.
Should Mr. Rider do Level 1 thrice then progress to each level, repeating the same or go through 1-3 sequentially thrice? Level 4 will be the capstone of his regimen.
My question is an exaggeration, but I suppose I wanted to know which learning strategy would be better.
Thanks.
There is a lot of information in each level, that is for sure. This can be tailored to a particular person, and how he/she is doing. I've had people by choice do a level, and then come back and to it again. I've had riders do level 1-2, and come back and do them again. I've had a returning level 4 student, start at level 1. We've had level 4 students, go back and audit a previous class.
Typically though, students progress through the levels, and then at level 4 we have the opportunity to really devote as much time as needed on any given skill. The rider is pretty educated, and we can get in there with more of a fine-tooth comb to see what he/she really neads to improve on. Level 4 is only run by our more senior coaches, as the level 4 consultant. Level 4 is updated for each student, each time and really each time on track.
Back to Jaybird's question, and how do people learn: there are exact barriers people run into learning a subject, any subject. It was key to Keith starting the school, when he learned what these barriers were (he took a course), and now all the coaches are trained in finding these barriers. I personally got tutoring as a teenager, and it turned me around from a not very good student, to doing well in school.
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Racer--thanks for the info on the Roadsmart tires and Qualifiers. We love the Q's for our use. I don't get as many really hot laps in as someone racing would, and the tires are not that often up to temp, so I don't like the new low pressure tires as much--I don't like the squirm when I turn it in, but many do (like Keith--likes the grip).
We have slicks on our coach bikes (used) but Q's on our student bikes, and I've had to ride a bike with Q's on it, and frankly loved 'em. They warm up so much sooner than the slicks.
Getting Bike Fit
in Cornering and Techniques
Posted
Sachak,
First thing, welcome to the forum!
I rember doing a race school a while back and having to put a few good laps together--I was whipped!
Best,
Cobie